By CBS Local. Coastal residents fleeing a potentially devastating blow from Hurricane Florence encountered empty gasoline pumps and depleted store shelves as the monster storm neared the Carolina coast with 125 mph winds and drenching rain that could last for days.

The hurricane was downgraded to a Category 2 on Wednesday evening, but it is still a large and dangerous storm. As of 11 p.m., the storm was centered 280 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and was moving northwest at 17 mph.

But the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday evening that the storm is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge and rainfall to the Carolinas as it approaches the coast Thursday and Friday.

The National Hurricane Center’s Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch said waves within the hurricane were more than 80 feet high.

“Wave heights to 83 ft were measured early this morning under the NE quadrant of Hurricane Florence. These enormous waves are produced by being trapped along with very strong winds moving in the same direction the storm’s motion,” the branch said earlier Wednesdayfge. (Read more from “‘Monster’ Florence Aims to Drench Carolinas as Waves Within Hurricane More Than 80 Feet High” HERE)

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83-Foot Wave Recorded by Satellite Monitoring Hurricane Florence

By CBS Local. A National Weather Service satellite monitoring Hurricane Florence has recorded a wave reaching 83 feet in the storm churning in the Atlantic Ocean.

That’s more than eight stories tall, for reference.

A satellite altimeter under the northeast quadrant, the strongest area of the storm, recorded the wave. It ranged 59 to 83 feet Wednesday morning. (Read more from “83-Foot Wave Recorded by Satellite Monitoring Hurricane Florence” HERE)